A New Beginning
by nerdygirl01
Summary: When Jack and Crutchie are walking home from selling papers one day, they stumble upon someone who could be a wonderful new addition to the newsboy team; but what happens when this new addition is being chased by the past? A new beginning may be just what each of them needs. (Set a few months after the strike)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there!**

 **I'm a very big fan of the musical** ** _Newsies._** **I just began writing one day and decided I'd post what I had** **…** **. Please let me know what you think, if I should keep uploading and finish or not. Thanks! Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 1

The streets of New York City were bustling with people trying to get home after a day of work. As the sun began to set, a cool breeze began to blow, relieving the homebound people from the summer heat and lifting the overall mood. In the midst of the hustle were two boys headed back from a profitable day of selling papers. Eighteen year-old Crutchie used his namesake crutch to hobble along next to nineteen year-old Jack Kelly, talking excitedly about the day.

Jack smiled as he listened to his friend chatter on. It was good to see him in such high spirits after what he had been through. Just a few months ago, the newsboys of the city had won the strike against Pulitzer and Jack had gotten his best friend back. Crutchie's bruises had almost disappeared, taking the memories of Warden Snyder and the refuge with them. Jack knew, though, that it would be a long time, if ever, before Crutchie was completely recovered from his experience in that terrible place.

"...And then Ise told him... Jack? Are youse okay?" Crutchie asked, noticing that his friend seemed to be miles away. Jack looked over at his friend and smiled. "I'm okay," he replied, "Just thinkin'." Crutchie returned the smile and allowed a comfortable silence to envelope the two as the continued down the street.

The sky became a darker shade of blue and the streets began to clear until it seemed like the two friends were the last people out that night. As they passed a nearby alley, Crutchie paused, the sounds of a scuffle reaching his ears. He strained his eyes to see down the alley in the fading light. He made out three figures but two of the figures seemed to be soaking the smaller one. Crutchie glanced over at Jack, who grimly began making his way down the alley. "Looks like Romeo decided ta take on the Delancys again," he muttered.

Crutchie rolled his eyes with a small grin as he followed Jack down the alley. Suddenly Jack stopped without warning and Crutchie walked right into him. Crutchie peered around him to to see why he had stopped so quickly. He gasped at the view in front of him. A girl was cornered by the Delancys. Although it was obvious she had taken some hits, she was fighting back hard against the brothers, scratching, biting, limbs flailing. The Delancys looked worse than she did. Crutchie chuckled as Jack began clapping. All three stopped and faced the newcomers.

"Well, Oscar, looks like youse gonna need some fightin' lessons from da new kid," he laughed. "It must be so disappointin' for youse to lose to someone half your size, and a goil none the less. Youse two is losin' yer touch." Oscar growled and started toward Jack while Morris held the girl against the wall. Jack punched Oscar hard in the face and caused him to crumple to the ground. As blood began to flow, Morris ran over to help is brother and Jack said, "Get outta here before I soaks both of youse."

The Delancys glared at Jack before shooting daggers back at the girl. "This isn't over," Morris yelled, as he helped his brother out of the alley. The girl sighed and leaned against the wall in exhaustion. "Thanks," she said with gratitude. "Youse looked like youse was holdin' up pretty without us," Crutchie said as he looked over the girl. The girl was about seventeen and had shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a light-weight dress that was ripped in several places. She was covered in dirt and had multiple bruises and cuts on her arms and legs; her face showed the beginnings of a black eye and a broken nose. "Well, I wouldn't have lasted much longer," she said. "What did the Delancys want with youse?" Jack asked. The girl allowed herself to slide to the ground and closed her eyes as she sat against the wall. "My godfather hired those buffoons to bring me back after I ran away a few months ago. This was my first actual run in with them, though." She opened her eyes and slowly got up. "I guess I'd better be hitting the road, who knows how long it will be before they come back. Thanks again." She started toward the entrance of the alley. Jack and Crutchie watched her go. She had almost reached the entrance before she started wobbling and fell against the alley wall. The two boys ran over to her and helped to support her. "Do you have somewhere to go?" Crutchie asked kindly. The silence that followed answered his question. Jack wrapped an arm around the girl's waist and helped her to stand. "Youse can stay with us tonight," he said. "My name's Jack and this here's Crutchie." The girl smiled weakly, "I'm Jess."

Night had fallen as the trio slowly made their way to the alley behind the Newsboy Lodging House. Jack helped the girl climb a ladder to the roof and Crutchie followed, taking one step at a time. When he reached the top, he saw Jack helping Jess to an extra mat that was near Crutchie's. Crutchie hobbled over and gently handed her a wet rag to clean her face and wipe away the blood. She smiled gratefully. "Sorry about the lack of amenities. We'd let youse use the shower downstairs but seein that youse a goil..." Crutchie trailed off. "I understand. Thank you," Jess replied. Jack walked over to his mat and sprawled out. "So if youse don't mind us askin', why did you run aways?" he asked.

Jess grimaced. "My godfather. He was awful. He came home every night drunk and would take his anger out on me." Crutchie frowned. "He should be put in jail for that." Jess shook her head. "Believe it or not, he was. I wasn't the only one he beat. Apparently he would find kids on the street and hurt them. He was jailed for that, but, if you would believe it, he was released for good behavior after a few months." She rolled her eyes and continued dabbing at her bloody nose. Jack snorted from his mat on the other side of the roof. "That sounds like da police force we all know and love." Crutchie made a face. "They're da woist," he stated.

"Anyway, when he was released, I knew I couldn't stay, so I left," Jess finished. "Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I'll head out tomorrow." Crutchie looked over to Jack, and he nodded. "Youse don't have ta leave," Crutchie began. :youse can come work with us and stay with us so youse have less chance of runnin' into ya godfather." Jess looked up with surprise. "Really?" she asked. Jack smiled. "Of course! We wouldn't want it any other way!"

Jess laughed with delight. "Thank you so much!" Crutchie smirked. "Don't thank us yet," he stated. "Youse gonna have ta change ya appearance." Jess stopped and slowly turned to him. "What exactly do you guys do?" she asked hesitantly. Jack laughed. "We're newsies. He just means youse gonna have ta dress like a boy ta hide ya appearance from the Delancys and probably the other guys."

Jess relaxed. "I'm okay with that," she laughed. "I actually always thought that being a newsie would be a fun job." Crutchie began looking through his and Jack's extra clothing and gave Jess a large striped shirt, some pants, a vest, suspenders, and some boots. "Youse also gonna need a nick name," Jack said as he laid on his back looking at the stars. Jess flopped onto her mat and began poking at her black eye. "Hmm..." she muttered. "Don't poke ya eye, youse gonna make it woise," Jack called. Jess turned her head and stuck her tongue out at him. Crutchie laughed. "What about Alleycat?" he asked.

Jack sat up. "Not bad." Jess looked over at Crutchie. "What's the story behind that name?" Crutchie chuckled. "Well, when we found youse fightin', youse reminded me of a cat fightin' other cats." Jack laughed out loud. "It's perfect!" Jess rolled her eyes, grinning. "Alleycat it is." She yawned and stretched. Crutchie smiled. "We should all sleep," he said. "It'll be a busy day tomorrow." He looked over to see Jess was already sound asleep. Jack was half asleep as he turned over on his mat. Crutchie got up and hobbled over to Jess and draped a blanket over Jess' small body. "Goodnight," he said, before he drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again! Here's another chapter of this story! I hope everyone likes it!**

 **(Should I keep going? Please let me know!)**

New York slowly came to life as the sun rose the next day. Jess stretched and opened her eyes as the city sounds woke her. She sat up and looked around. The boys were beginning to stir. Crutchie reached for his crutch and stood. He picked up his bag and put his hat on. "Come on, Jack. Let's go downstairs to get ready so Jess can change. Jess, when youse is done, meet us in the alley." Jess nodded her agreement as Jack sleepily grabbed his things and followed Crutchie down the ladder and into the lodging house.

Jess quickly changed into the new clothes that Crutchie had given her. She was grateful to see that the large shirt and vest hid her girlish figure and made her body look more like a boy's. After getting dressed, she tied up her blond, shoulder-length hair and put the hat on her head. She took the only two quarters she had out of her old dress and put it in her bag. She then climbed down the ladder and waited for the boys in the alley. They arrived about five minutes after she had and Crutchie handed her a few pieces of fruit he had managed to swipe from the kitchen inside. She accepted the fruit gratefully. "Thanks," she said with a smile. Crutchie grinned back. "No problem." Jack shook his head and smiled. "Let's get goin'. The gates'll open up soon."

By the time they reached the distribution center, multiple newsies were already in line outside of the gates. Jack, Crutchie and Jess joined the line as some newsies came to greet them. "Who's da new kid?" A blonde kid with a cigar asked. "This here's Alleycat," Jack replied. "I'm Race," the kid said as he introduced himself. He pointed out a few others: Specs, Henry, Mush, Romeo, and Finch. As Race walked away with the kid he introduced as Mush, a tall dark-haired boy and a small boy of about nine walked up. "Alleycat, I'd like ya ta meet Davey and his brudda Les," Jack said. Jess smiled and said hello. Suddenly, the gates opened and the line of Newsies approached to buy their papers. Crutchie turned to Jess. "The Delancys ain't here today." Jess sighed in relief. Crutchie stepped up to buy his papers. Placing a dime down on the table, he said, "Twenty papes, please." "Twenty papes for the crip," the man behind the counter said. Jess stepped up and also put down a dime.

Once she had gotten her papers, she walked over to Jack and Crutchie. "Youse gonna sell with Crutchie today," Jack told her. "He'll show you the ropes." Jack walked off with Davey and Les while she and Crutchie walked off in the opposite direction. Crutchie didn't talk much on their walk, and Jess was thankful; she was thinking on how she could stay hidden from her godfather. It was dangerous to stay in one place for too long. "I'll probably have to keep moving," she thought to herself. "That means leaving Jack and Crutchie... I don't want to get them into trouble... I'll leave in the middle of the night... Yeah, that sounds good, and it'll keep the boys safe."

After a while of walking, she realized that Crutchie was talking to her. "Jess, youse okay?" "What?" she asked, coming out of her thoughts. "We's here," he said, coming to a stop on a corner. "Are youse ready to learn from a master?" he asked teasingly. Jess rolled her eyes and punched him on the arm playfully. He grinned. "Okay, the first thing youse gotta know is the people youse sellin' ta." He pointed to a well dressed lady walking by. "The rich ladies always give sympathy so youse wanna act sick or hurt to get them to buy. They is also usually the ones who give ya more than a penny per pape." Jess looked unconvinced. Crutchie smirked. "Watch and learn," he said, heading towards the woman. He leaned heavily on his crutch and gave a pitiful cough. "Excuse me, ma'am, buy a pape?" he asked weakly. The lady gave him a sad smile. "Of course I will," she said, handing him a nickel. Jess looked at Crutchie in surprise as he hobbled back to their corner. "Youse is up," he laughed. Jess spotted another well dressed lady and made her way over. "Excuse me, miss." She faked a coughing fit before continuing, "would you buy a pape?" The woman gave her a soft smile and nodded. "Here you are, darling," she said, giving Jess a dime. "Keep it," the lady said, before walking off with her paper. Jess smiled and made her way back over to Crutchie. He laughed and shook his head. "Good job. Now for the more complicated tips," he said with a smirk.

The pair continued that way until about six in the evening whenthey had sold all of their papers. "Let's pick up some food and bring it back to the roof," Crutchie said, realizing that they had sold through lunch. Jess agreed with a nod and followed Crutchie into a deli to buy some food. After buying a sandwich each, they began to walk back to the roof. Jess held the bag of food while Crutchie began his slow ascent. By the time Jess reached the top, Crutchie was reading a note that Jack had left. "Jack is out with Katherine tonight, so it's just youse and me tonight." Jess nodded. She had heard about Katherine from her discussions with Crutchie throughout the day. Crutchie limped over to his mat and sat down, putting his crutch down next to him. Jess joined him on the mat and pulled her hat off, allowing her hair to fall freely down her back. She picked up her sandwich and chewed for a moment before realizing that Crutchie was staring thoughtfully at her in the fading light. "What?" she asked. He looked at her grimly. "Youse know we ain't scared of yer godfather, right?" She blinked. "Sure, why do you ask?" Crutchie glanced at her. "Believe me, Ise know the face of one plannin' to run away. Youse don't have ta... Youse a part of our family now." She smiled sadly. "I just don't want anyone to get in trouble," she said sadly. Crutchie took her hand in his and smiled. "We ain't afraid of no trouble." She smiled back at him. "Although, do you mind me askin... Why did youse live with ya godfather in the first place?" Jess sighed. "It's fine. My parents died in an accident last year, so I was sent to live with my godfather." Crutchie squeezed her hand. "Ise sorry to hear that," he said softly. She shrugged and looked at the ground. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm over it." Crutchie silently watched her, and as she began to cry, he pulled her into a hug. "Hey, it's gonna be alright," he said soothingly, running a hand over her hair. Jess sniffled. "I'm really scared, Crutchie," she whispered. "Youse safe with us. I promise," Crutchie told her. Jess looked up, gratitude shining in her eyes. "Thank you, for everything," she said softly. Crutchie glanced down at her. "Youse is welcome."

The two sat like that for a while before Crutchie realized that Jess had fallen asleep in his arms. Crutchie let her lay there until Jack came home. As he climbed onto the roof, he looked at the two huddled together and chuckled. Crutchie waved him over. Jack picked Jess up and moved her to her mat before glancing over at Crutchie and winking. Crutchie blushed. "Aw, c'mon Jackie." Jack smiled at his friend. "Ise just glad that she feels safe now. Thanks, Crutchie." Crutchie smiled and closed his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Newsies or any of the characters**

 **Please review! Should I keep writing this story?**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Sunlight streamed into Jess's face the next morning. She blinked sleepily before sitting up and stretching. She yawned and looked around. Crutchie and Jack were both up and dressed. They continued eating their breakfast as they turned toward her. "Mornin'!" Crutchie greeted happily. Jess smiled and stood to go join them. Picking up her bagel, she grinned at the boys. "Why didn't you wake me?" Jack laughed. "We was actually about to when youse woke up." Jess rolled her eyes. "Sure you were."

Crutchie gave Jess a knowing grin before standing and pulling Jack with him down the ladder.

Jess quickly changed and finished her breakfast before meeting the boys in the alley. The three laughed and talked all the way to the distribution center. As they entered the gates, Jack suddenly stopped laughing and stopped. Crutchie and Jess stopped and stared at him. "Jack? What's the matter?" Jess asked with confusion. Crutchie caught sight of what Jack had seen and pushed Jess behind him. "Delancys," he muttered. Jess began to panic. "Jack, what if they recognize me?" Jack turned to her. "Just keep your head down and you'll be okay," he replied. "Stays between me and Crutchie when the gate opens." Jess nodded, her anticipation and fear growing as more newsies arrived and the seconds ticked away. Race walked up to the trio with his trademark cigar in his mouth. "Wat's up, Alleycat? Ya okay? Youse don't look too good..." Crutchie glanced over at Jess and could see she was on the verge of a panic attack. "He's okay; Alleycat here just didn't get enough sleep last night," Crutchie managed. "Ain't that right, Cat?" Jess took a deep breath. "That's right," she replied, deepening her voice and feigning a yawn. Race shook his head. "If youse don't wanna tell me then just say so." Race walked away to join a newsie named Jojo just as the gates opened. Jack led the trio to the back of the line as Jess and Crutchie followed.

As they waited in line, Crutchie noticed that Jess's hands were shaking. He reached down and held her hand. Jess glanced over her shoulder and gave Crutchie a smile before dropping his hand and stepping up to the desk behind Jack. Jack put down his money, picked up his papers, and suddenly it was her turn. Jess stepped up and placed two quarters down on the table. "A hundred papes," she said in a deep voice, keeping her head down. As Oscar handed her the papers, Morris began to study her. "A new one, huh?" he sneered as Jess took her papers. Oscar snickered. "Just as bad as the rest of 'em," he replied. Jess left the line as Crutchie stepped up and became the new target of the brothers. She waited for Crutchie at the gate and they began their walk to the harbor. Jess was ecstatic. "They didn't recognize me!" Crutchie smiled as they continued down the sidewalk. "You'd be surprised how some dirt and old clothing would change your appearance." Jess grinned and turned to Crutchie. "How about some more selling lessons?"

* * *

Days passed and Jess settled into her new lifestyle. She continued to live with Jack and Crutchie on the roof and they, with the exception of Katherine, were the only ones to know her secret. Jess and Crutchie continued to be selling partners and made quite a good team, brining in a lot of money and selling a hundred papers each every day. Jess became so comfortable around the boys that she became used to the name Alleycat and even began passing her normal voice off as her "boy voice". Jess loved her life with the newsies, but Katherine began to believe that she was losing her "girly side" and decided that she needed a girl's night out. Around 5 o'clock, Katherine approached Jess and Crutchie's selling spot with Jack. They stopped a block away and observed them. Jack smirked as he watched Jess's cheeks pinken when Crutchie lightly bumped her after she seemingly teased him about something. Katherine smiled. "We need to set them up." Jack nodded as he continued watching the two. "I've been wanting to take Jess on a girl's night! I'll do it today! I'll take her home, fix her up a bit, and take her out to Medda's. You and Crutchie can stay here and do something together. Maybe see if you can get anything out of him... Like how he feels about Jess. I can do the same with her, and when I drop her off later, you can walk me home so they have some time to hopefully talk," Katherine rambled excitedly. Jack shook his head and smiled. "What if it don't work?" Katherine stared at him in disbelief. "It's going to work!" she exclaimed. Jack laughed and pulled her close to his side. "Ace, youse is a genius." Katherine smiled and hugged Jack before walking up to Jess and Crutchie.

Jess had just finished selling her last paper and was walking with Crutchie toward the lodging house when Katherine came jogging up to her with Jack trailing behind. "Alright, Jess. Let's go." Jess looked at Katherine in confusion. "Huh?" she asked.

Katherine placed her hands on her hips and smirked at her. "We're having a girl's night, and there's nothing you can do about it." Jess rolled her eyes as she turned to Crutchie and gave him a pleading look. He backed away. "Hey, don't look at me. Ise ain't helpin' you." Jess laughed. "Fine," she said with a smirk. Katherine grinned and grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" Crutchie and Jack watched with amusement as an excited Katherine pulled Jess down the street towards her apartment. Jack glanced over at his friend. "Well, whadda ya say to eatin' in tonight, Crutch?" Crutchie nodded and followed Jack back towards the center of the city.

Jess was dragged up the stairs into Katherine's apartment. It was a small, simple apartment, but it fit Katherine perfectly. They entered into a sitting room with a small fireplace, couch, and desk complete with a typewriter. Off of the sitting room was a kitchen with a small table and two chairs. The sitting room also gave entrance to a hallway that led to a bathroom and bedroom. Jess sat down on the couch and glanced over at her friend. "So, what's the plan for tonight?" Katherine smiled. "I was thinking a show at Medda's theatre." Jess' smile faded. "But I don't have anything nice enough to wear to a theatre." Katherine shook her head. "You're going to borrow some of my stuff! But first, we are going to get you cleaned up," she said, shooing Jess off of the couch. Katherine led Jess into the bathroom and started the water for her. "Go ahead and take your time. I'll have some clothes ready for you when you are done." Katherine studied Jess for a second then smiled. "Your eyes are so pretty. I know just what to dress you in." As Katherine left the room, Jess undressed and stepped into the water, pulling the bath curtain shut behind her. She was surprised to find it very warm as she had become used to the frigid water at the lodging house. After finding soap and washing her hair, she stepped out of the water. Jess discovered that her newsboy clothes were gone and replaced with a beautiful bright blue dress that fit her body perfectly and fell to her ankles. She slipped it on as Katherine entered, already dressed, with her newsboy clothes freshly washed. "Wow, Jess, you look absolutely stunning!" Jess blushed. "Thank you for the beautiful dress!" Katherine smiled. "Now, sit down and let me finish getting you ready." Jess sat down and set to work curling Jess' hair. After her hair was down, Katherine applied some light makeup to her eyes, lips, and cheeks. "Okay, I'm done," she said. Jess stood and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized the girl in the mirror. Her curled blonde hair fell perfectly on her shoulders. The blue dress hung beautifully on her body and showed off her figure, unlike her newsboy clothes. She understood now why Katherine had insisted on this dress. The blue of the dress caused her blue eyes to really stand out. Jess gaped at herself as Katherine laughed and clapped her hands in excitement. "Let's go!" Jess laughed and allowed Katherine to thread her arm through her own. The two left the apartment and began down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

The pair laughed and talked until they arrived in front of Medda's theatre. As they waited in line for the doors to open, Katherine continually glanced over at Jess, trying to find the right way to form the question she needed to ask her friend. Jess sighed as Katherine glanced over at her for the fifth time. "Alright, spill. What is it? You've been dying to ask me something the entire way over here," Jess laughed. Katherine giggled along with Jess. "Sorry, am I that obvious?" Jess nodded as the line began to move inside the theatre. "Yes. Incredibly obvious." The two found their seats in the top balcony and sat down. Katherine sighed. "I thought I was doing an okay job at it, too." Jess shook her head. "So anyway. Spill it!" Katherine laughed. "Well, I just wanted to know how you like being a newsboy." Jess turned to her confused. "I love it. It's so much better than being with my godfather, but you already know all of this..." Katherine nodded her head and ignored the last part. "Good, good. And I notice that you have a selling partner. How's that going?" Jess glanced at her friend curiously. "Crutchie? He's nice. He does his job well." Katherine nodded. "That's nice. Anything else?" Jess crossed her arms and looked questioningly at Katherine. "Okay. I'm putting an end to this. What're you trying to do?" Katherine threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "Ugh! Do you like Crutchie or not?" she exclaimed. Jess laughed. "Well, yeah! I mean I live with him and Jack! I guess I have to like them, don't I? They're like brothers to me." Katherine groaned. "You know what I mean!" Jess blinked. "You mean romantically? Honestly, I've never really though about it before." Katherine squinted at Jess as she leaned towards her. "Are you sure?" "Positive! I mean, he is really nice and adorable and I love to spend time with him..." she trailed off before slapping her hand to cover her mouth and look at Katherine in surprise. Katherine smiled, satisfied, as she leaned back into her seat. "Sounds like you have thought about it, even if you didn't know it." The lights of the theatre suddenly dimmed and the overture to Medda's show began, but Jess continued to think about what had just happened. Did she really like Crutchie? Did he even like her? What if it didn't work out? Medda walked onstage and Jess let all her worries leave her mind for the time being, but the last thought in her mind continued to ring: should she tell Crutchie of her feelings?

Crutchie climbed up onto the roof with Jack following close behind carrying a bag of sandwiches. The sun was just beginning to set and the sun reflected off of the buildings. Jack passed Crutchie his sandwich and the two sat chewing quietly, watching the sunset. Jack became lost in though as he tried to come up with a way to get his best friend to come clean with his feelings for Jess. He didn't want to let Katherine down and he knew that Crutchie liked Jess a lot. Jack as startled out of his thoughts when Crutchie said, "Hey, Jack? Youse been awfully quiet for the last half hour. Watch thinkin' about?" Jack stumbled for words. "Well...ya see...ah..." Jack blushed red as he realized he didn't know what to say. Crutchie laughed. "It's okay! Youse can tell me." Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it's kinda complicated." Crutchie looked at him confused. "Then youse can simplify it," he laughed. "Okay, Crutchie. Whaddaya think about Jess?" Crutchie looked taken aback. "Why?! Do youse not want her to stay with us anymore?" he asked in a panic. Jack shook his head quickly. "No, no, no. That's not it at all! Ise just wanted your opinion of her." Crutchie looked relieved. "Oh. Well, she's super nice and caring. And she's pretty good at playing poker. Wipes everyone else out." Jack sighed. "But, Crutch, do youse like her?" Crutchie snorted. "Well of course! Don't youse?" Jack threw up his hands and laughed. "Youse missin' the point here!" Crutchie crossed his arms over his chest and thought. "No I ain't! Youse asked me if I liked her and Ise said..." Realization dawned across his face as he understood Jack's question. The crippled boy began to blush as he said, "Oh..." Jack laughed at the younger boy's expression. "Yeah." Crutchie though for a minute. "Well, I do really like her, but Ise been afraid to say anything to her." Jack smiled knowingly. "Youse should tell her, Crutchie." Crutchie looked at his friend. "But what happens if she doesn't feel the same way?" Jack grinned. "Ise really doubt that."

The two friends sat until a voice broke the comfortable silence. "Hello? Anybody home?" "We's up here, Katherine!" Jack called down. Steps were heard on the ladder as Katherine's head appeared. "Hi," Katherine said to her boyfriend as she gave him a hug. Crutchie got to his feet. "Where's Jess?" he asked. "Here I am!" a voice called out. Crutchie turned back to the ladder as a girl he didn't recognize climbed up onto the roof. Jack let out a low whistle. "Wow, Ace. Youse did a great job! You look great, Jess," Jack said. Jess blushed as Crutchie hobbled over to her. "Jess, youse look amazing." Jess smiled. "Thanks, Crutchie." Katherine glanced at Jack. "Well, Jack, you promised you'd walk me home." Jack nodded and followed Katherine towards the ladder. "Catch youse two later," Jack said, and then they were gone. Silence enveloped the two. Jess picked up the bag Katherine had left and put her newsboy clothes near her mat, along with the extra skirts and blouses Katherine had given her. She glanced over her shoulder at Crutchie. "Would ya mind turning around so I can change?" she asked quietly. Crutchie nodded, and turned to look out over the city. After a few minutes, he head Jess say, "Okay, you can turn back now." He turned to find her out of her nice dress and into a pair of pants and an old t-shirt of Jack's, but she still looked as beautiful as she had when she had gotten back from Medda's. Jess joined Crutchie by the edge of the building and silence once again covered the two as they stared out at the city and the stars. Jess broke the silence first. "If you look in that direction, you'll see Ursa Major," she said, pointing to the sky. Crutchie followed her direction and was surprised to see a bear in the sky. "And over there is Cassiopeia, and over there is Orion, and farther is Draco," she continued. Crutchie looked over at her. "How do ya knows this much about constellations?" Jess smiled as she continued to search the sky. "My father loved astronomy. He used to show me all the constellations when I was younger." They became lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, a shooting star crossed the sky, causing Crutchie to gasp. "Pretty, isn't it?" Jess asked. "My dad used to say you could wish on those." Crutchie looked into the section of the sky where the star had appeared and made a wish. He glanced towards Jess and took a deep breath. "I have to tell you something," both Jess and Crutchie blurted out at the same time. The two turned and stared at each other in surprise before bursting into laughter. "You first," Jess told Crutchie. He smiled shyly and looked down. "Well, Ise was talking with Jack today and he actually talked to me about you. He wondered how I felt about youse and I told him the truth." Jess glanced over to him. "And that was..?" Crutchie took a deep breath. "That Ise really like you, Jess. I don't know if youse feel the same way, but Jack said Ise should tell you and how Ise felt and..." Crutchie was cut off by a hand touching his own. He looked up at Jess' face and was surprised to see her smiling. "Crutchie, I feel the same way." He let out a sigh of relief and laughed. She laughed with him and watched the sky, still holding hands. "You know..." Jess began. Crutchie turned to face her. "katherine asked me similar questions about you..." Jess began before looking at Crutchie quizzically. Crutchie laughed. "Of course. It was probably all part of her plan to get us together." Jess giggled. "I guess we should be glad she did, then." The two turned back to the stars as they allowed a comfortable silence to envelope them once again.


End file.
